Sightless and Soundless
by ourheroregina
Summary: AU prompt: Regina is blind and Robin is deaf. Despite this, both of them play cello in the orchestra and are stand partners. Regina makes sure Robin is playing the right notes and in return, Robin walks Regina home after practice.
1. Chapter 1

Prompt from Tumblr: AU prompt: Regina is blind and Robin is deaf. Despite this, both of them play cello in the orchestra and are stand partners. Regina makes sure Robin is playing the right notes and in return, Robin walks Regina home after practice.

I really hope you'll like it. :)

Sightless and Soundless

It's been five years since the last time Robin's been here. It's been five long and lonely years since he carried his cello out of this wonderful building after a grand Christmas performance with the orchestra for the last time.

To say that he is nervous would be an understatement. His hands are literally shaking.

To be honest, Robin doesn't really understand what he's going here. People who come here are talented, trained, wonderful musicians who hear even the slightest mistake, the tiniest detail. And he… He's a talented musician who is surrounded by eternal silence.

His friends are good at convincing, though. They persuaded him to come here again, to try again.

Robin didn't think it was worth it. He still doesn't. But he gave in, expecting to prove his friends that he's not capable of playing. Not anymore.

However, five years ago he was capable of playing, he was capable of making people cry with a simple melody. He was one of the best cellists in this orchestra, he was asked to play in all concerts, his students had won dozen awards, he was the most popular cello teacher in the whole town.

Everything turned upside down when Robin lost his hearing. He was driving home after the winter festival when a drunk driver crashed into him. He was very injured. The concussion was extremely strong. Fortunately, he managed to heal all of his wounds but doctors gave no hope that he'll ever be able to hear a sound.

Robin's life fell apart. He lost his job. He lost his passion. He lost his wife who left him claiming that she wasn't ready to deal with all of this.

All his life Robin's been a strong man. But then he gave up. Just like that. His life became colorless, all he felt was sorrow. He started drinking. A lot. He would get so drunk, he couldn't get home, would sleep on the streets for weeks until one of his friends found him.

Robin will be forever thankful to his dear friends who brought him back on his feet. They forced Robin to enter a therapy center, he joined a support group and after a few months of hard work, he was feeling a little bit better.

Today Robin is in the opera again. And he feels awful. He doesn't belong here anymore. He cannot hear what people around him are talking, he cannot hear the quiet music played by those who cannot wait for official practice to start.

He feels as if he's going to cry.

It was his life and one drunk driver took it all away in a moment.

Damn it!

From the corner of his eye, Robin catches the conductor talking, gesticulating something with a baton in his hand. People start walking to their seats and Robin sighs, follows their lead.

He sits down in the place which belonged to him five years ago and is greeted by a few fellow musicians. He smiles in response and swallows hard as people turn away from him with pity in their eyes.

He didn't come here for that.

After a few moments of chaos, everyone is finally is sitting in their places and the conductor lifts the baton in the air. Robin takes the bow with shaking fingers, his other hand's fingertips tightening on the strings.

It is going to be a disaster.

The conductor's hand moves down in a rather slow rhythm and Robin touches the strings with the bow, desperately looking from notes to the conductor and back to his fingers just in case he's stopping the strings in the wrong way.

Deep breaths, Robin reminds himself as he desperately plays the instrument, and he forces himself to stop thinking and feel instead. He can feel music, he always could and now when he's deaf, he feels things even better.

But it's been five years and he's dusty and he lost the rhythm completely now and there's a lump in his throat because he's not as good as he once was and he will never be.

Thankfully, the first part is rather short and when the conductor finishes directing with baton lifted in front of him, Robin breathes easier.

He puts the bow down immediately and closes his eyes, tries not to start hyperventilating.

He really shouldn't have come here.

When Robin opens his eyes, he finds a dark haired woman sitting beside him. He's certain she hasn't been here five years ago, he would have remembered seeing such beauty before.

The woman's eyes are dark brown and she's looking at him, but not exactly, her eyes don't meet his. She's saying something, her face twisted in a smirk.

Robin bets her voice is like an angel's.

She keeps talking, this beautiful stranger, and he tries to read from her plump red lips but they're so tempting and for a moment he wonders what it would be like to kiss her.

"I bet you have a voice of an angel," Robin says and the woman stops immediately, her eyes widening. She turns to the side and now they're almost looking at each other but her gaze is still not quite direct.

With a sinking feeling Robin realizes that she's blind.

Robin catches her lips moving, she's saying something and her smirk has now turned into a confused expression which makes her look even more beautiful.

"I'm deaf," Robin offers.

Her mouth opens in surprise and she's saying something again, it looks like she's apologizing and Robin would give his whole life up if he was able to hear her wonderful voice.

The conductor is moving, the baton back in his hand, motioning to the musicians to prepare for another part.

"We're starting the second part," he tells the mysterious woman in case she didn't hear the conductor and takes the bow, shifts the cello a bit until he's comfortable.

The second part is even worse than the first one. Robin cannot feel the rhythm, not at all. He tries to beat one with his leg but is failing completely because the conductor's hands are in completely different position than his beaten rhythm and Robin feels like giving up.

Unexpectedly Robin feels a warm, soft hand on his thigh, the hand beating a rhythm that is so similar to the one he can't quite catch and he turns to look to the side and there's the same stunning woman beating a rhythm for him, her own bow and cello put to the side.

Robin inhales sharply and she says something. He thinks that she's encouraging him, and he murmurs a quiet thank you before he drags the bow against the strings again.

This time he seems to catch the beat and he plays in tact with others and the woman's hand is insistent against his thigh, not faltering up for a moment.

It feels as if Robin of Locksley has been reborn.

The practice is over too quickly and when Robin turns around to thank the mysterious woman again for helping him, she's already gone. Her cello is left there and so is her bow. Robin sighs, feeling horrible for not getting a chance to thank her one more time.

When Robin enters the hallway to take his coat, he sees her. The woman is standing there, with her head in her hands, murmuring something.

"Is everything alright, milady?" Robin asks as he approaches her.

She jumps a little, obviously hasn't expected someone to talk to her and lifts her head from her hands as if to look at the person. She sighs and starts to say something but then remembers that he cannot hear her and instead she pulls out her phone from her pocket and types.

When she hands him the phone, their hands touch for a brief moment making Robin's heart beat just a bit faster. It's unbelievable to feel like this with a person you've just met.

There are many mistakes in the message (after all she cannot see ) but he stills understands that her guide is not here and she has to wait a few hours for someone to come and take her home.

"Let me help you," Robin offers without hesitation. "Let me take you home."

She seems taken aback by his offer for she opens her mouth and starts saying something all the while shaking her head.

She stops in the middle of her speech, though, and her face turns into apologetic grimace as she closes her eyes.

"It's alright," Robin assures her. "If you want me to get you home, nod your head." He asks, in hopes that this type of communication will suit their situation better than her speaking and then apologizing.

The woman stands still for a moment and Robin takes that moment to simply look at her.

She's stunning. In every way.

Her face is almost bare, only her eyelashes are painted and her lips, they're the color of blood. He notices a small scar over her lip and another one at her temple, probably from a surgery. For a strange reason these scars makes her look even prettier.

Robin blinks his eyes then, and looks away. He shouldn't stare at her like that.

When he looks at her again, though, she's nodding her head and Robin grins.

"Alright, milady," he smiles, "Now you have to tell me where you live."

She pulls out her phone again and types the address.

Robin knows where she lives and he tells her so, returning her phone to her. They dress up then, put on their coats and scarfs and hats and Robin puts his cello case on his shoulder before taking the woman's hand in his.

Her hand is still warm and soft and wonderful, and all he can think about is kissing it. But he doesn't do it, instead he's holding it tightly, squeezing it with every step they take.

Their walk is short, she lives only a few minutes away from the opera theatre but for somewhat reason their journey still feels magical. The whole town is decorated in Christmas lights, it is surrounded by the smell of gingerbread cookies and Robin is certain that the Christmas music is playing in the street.

He holds the woman's hand tighter and thinks that he hasn't felt this good since he fell into eternal silence.

They reach her apartment far too quickly and when he releases her hand and tells her that they've come, the smile falls from her face and it looks as though she's sad that they have to part.

And Robin feels the same.

"Do you want me to help you climb the stairs?" he asks, looking for a reason to stay with her just for a little while longer.

She laughs, and Robin would die to hear that sound, and says something again but all Robin manages to understand while reading from her lips is that she doesn't need his help.

"Alright, then," Robin says, clearing his throat. He takes her hand in his again, and gives it one last squeeze. "Merry Christmas, milady."

Merry Christmas, the woman says back but he doesn't hear that, he just reads. Thank you, she adds and slowly she turns around, grabs the railway and starts climbing up the stairs.

When the beautiful stranger disappears from his view, Robin sighs in contentment.

It's been five years since the last time he felt like this. It's been five years since a hand as soft as hers has touched him. It's been five years since his heart was beating as rapidly as it is now.

This mysterious woman whose name he doesn't even know is the best thing that happened to him.

Perhaps they will never meet again but he's sure as hell going to think about her. A lot. He will always remember and imagine her stunning face and that wonderful voice he didn't get a chance to hear.

With that thought he turns around and walks to his own home.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much to every single one of you who reads, follows, favorites and reviews! It means the world to me! If you want to read more of this verse, please, feel free to leave a prompt as a review or send it in as a private message. :)

I hope you'll like it!

 **Prompt: a verse where it's from Regina's POV upon realizing they'll be stand partners regularly when he returns the next week & figures out a better way to talk to him with voice to text on her phone. Even though she can't see him, she realizes she's attracted to everything else about him.**

 **Sightless and Soundless (2)**

Regina inhales nervously as she sits down on the chair in the opera theatre. It's not the first time she's here, not the first time she plays in an orchestra but somehow every time she comes here, her heart tries to jump out of her chest.

However, tonight it's not only the music that's making her heart beat like crazy; tonight she's thinking about a man she hasn't even seen; the mysterious man who walked her home, the mysterious man who is deaf but has a gift of a musician.

He didn't show up on practice on Monday. And as funny and unbelievable as it sounds, Regina felt sad. She didn't know him, yet she couldn't stop thinking about him. She kept remembering his wonderful voice which made every hair on her body stand. She remembered how warm his hand was in hers when he walked her home, how he squeezed it encouragingly with every step they took.

She couldn't get him out of her mind.

For the first time since the awful accident which shattered her life Regina felt alive.

It's been two long and lonely years filled with sorrow since Regina's life turned upside down. It was the hardest time for her. She lost everything she had, her whole life fell apart in a moment.

She didn't think she could survive all of this.

A week ago, she still didn't.

But that mysterious man made her world turn again. He brought light into her life.

And then he didn't show up. He disappeared.

Regina felt like her life was being shattered into pieces once again when she walked into the rehearsal and found the chair beside her empty(to be honest, she had no idea why she needed him so much, perhaps it was their disability that had drawn her to him so much from the moment he sat beside her). For a moment she thought that his place had been changed but when the chair remained empty the whole rehearsal, she realized that he was her stand partner, that he was supposed to be beside her, and he left her.

Still, she hoped he would show up.

And he did.

Seconds before the practice started, Regina heard a heavy breathing as someone hurried between musicians. That someone sat down beside her on the chair that belonged to the man who helped her and exhaled in relief.

"Hello," he said breathlessly and Regina's heart stopped for a moment.

It was the mysterious man, _her_ mysterious man.

However, conductor announced the beginning of rehearsal before Regina had time to reply.

The first part was short and when the bow was put down, Regina quickly fished out her phone out of her pocket. She unlocked it and pressed on the screen. When she heard a beeping sound, she spoke, "Where have you been? You missed the rehearsal on Monday."

She leans a bit then until she finds the man and hands him the phone.

She thinks he is confused for a moment because he doesn't take the phone from her instantly, he hesitates before he finally lets out an understanding 'Oh' and takes the phone from her.

"I was sick," he tells her simply and from the way his voice sounds, she can guess that he's smiling. "This app is brilliant." He adds and Regina smiles in return.

It was Mal who found the app and taught Regina how to use it. Truth be told, Regina doesn't even know why she told her friend about him and how they couldn't communicate with one another, but now she's so thankful that she did.

"You didn't tell me your name," Regina says and wonders if her phone has caught her voice.

She waits for a moment and then, when she's about to stretch her hand out and take the phone from the man to repeat her words, he chuckles.

"I'm Robin, milady." He tells her. "And you're Regina."

Regina turns her head to the side a bit, biting her lip in confusion. How does he know that?

"I checked you out on the internet," he admits, sounding a bit sheepish. "It wasn't that hard, you know. It seems like your story was all over the news."

Regina swallows hard, turning away from him. She feels tears in her eyes but she doesn't let them fall, she inhales, exhales and inhales again in order to calm herself down, to stay strong.

She didn't want anyone to know what happened to her and how pathetic her life has become. And now the man knows that her husband was killed during the robbery in their house two years ago. Now he knows that her child jumped out of the window and broke his arm while trying to escape. He must know that her boy was instantly taken away from her and returned to the foster home because Regina was considered to be unable to take care of a child.

And she didn't want him to know that. Not until she was ready.

Regina concentrates on her breathing, breathes steadily just like she was thought to do when she was in therapy, her fingers playing against her leg unconsciously.

All of a sudden, she hears orchestra start playing and she's not calm enough to play. So she doesn't take her cello and bow. She just breathes and listens, lets music work its magic on her.

But she cannot enjoy a melody completely. Robin beside her is playing too quickly, he doesn't catch the rhythm just like the last time.

Regina sighs.

The tears are still rolling down her cheeks when she stands up and moves closer to him, rests her hand on his thigh and beats the rhythm for him. Just like the last time.

He stops playing as soon as he feels her hand and she feels his breath hitting her face as he turns to her.

"I can't," he whispers and his voice sounds breathless. She realizes that he's on the brink of a break down.

She doesn't say anything, he won't hear her anyway, and just breathes deeply, squeezing his thigh. And he catches what she is doing, and breathes with her.

As soon as the part is over, though, her partner takes her hand in his and moves it away from him, then stands up and walks away. Regina is confused, she doesn't know what happened but she's sure as hell she has to find him.

She whispers, "Can someone help me find Robin?"

There's a warm hand on her shoulder instantly and then Regina is being lifted up on her feet.

"Let's hurry up," She hears sweet Marry Margaret's voice and as much as Regina despises the woman, she feels thankful for the help.

The two women walk out of the rehearsal room and for a moment they wander down the corridors.

Regina's heart is beating like crazy. She doesn't know why she cares about Robin so much but she does and she wants to find him. She needs to find him.

"He's in the cloakroom." Mary Margaret states when she stops and Regina nods her head.

"Thank you." She says back and takes hold of the wall, walks two steps straight and then turns to the left. She puts her hand down on the bench and walks until she reaches Robin.

He's crying. No, not crying, he's sobbing.

For a moment, Regina just sits there. She cannot say any comforting words but she can do one thing and she does just that. She pulls him into a tight hug, her hands wrapping around him and holding him even though he tries to push her away.

She's been there before. When she came back, all those questions from other musicians, difficulty getting the sounds right… She's been crying in the cloakroom too many times to count but back then there was no one to understand her, to support her.

There's no way Regina will let Robin go through this alone.

After a few minutes Robin stops struggling and collapses into Regina's arms, and she holds him tightly, running her hand up and down his back, humming a melody he can't hear but can certainly feel.

It takes a while, but his sobs turn into quiet crying and Regina wants to say that it's alright, she wants to say anything to make him feel better so she puts her hand into her pocket to pull out her phone and… finds it empty.

Damn it! She must have left her phone in the rehearsal room.

Sighing in frustration, she puts her hands on his cheeks and makes him look at her (or at least hopes that she does so). The stubble is tickling her palms and she lets her thumbs brush away tears from his cheeks while she takes a moment to steady her own breath.

"It's alright," she says, trying to articulate the words the best she can.

"How can you say that?" he surprises her by saying. "I was the best, Regina. And now I cannot follow a rhythm. I played this piece when I was six. And now I cannot. I was brilliant. Brilliant! But not anymore. My life is nothing without music and I have to let it go. I cannot ruin the rehearsals like this. I need to give up."

She sighs, feeling tears filling her own eyes. "You don't have a permission to give," she tells him slowly and waits for him to repeat it. He does, not quite correctly and Regina says that again and again until he reads it correctly. "I will help you." She tells him.

"I cannot take your help, Regina," he shakes his head and her palms move down from his cheeks to his shoulders and she squeezes it.

"Of course you can," she says but Robin doesn't see her speaking, instead he's standing up from the wooden bench and pulling her up with him.

"I will be forever thankful to you for today," he says, his palm touching her cheek and wiping away tears from her cheeks. She didn't even know she was crying. "But I will not come here again. It's over." He states and takes her hand in his, walks them out of the room.

When they return back to the rehearsal room, it is quiet. She supposes the practice is over already. Robin hands her the bag and then a cold thing which, she realizes, is her phone. She quickly unlocks it and says, "I won't let you give up." She grabs his arm, waits until he turns around and hands him the phone.

"I won't let you give you," she repeats. "I will help you practice, to feel the beat. We will make it work, Robin. We will find a way." She says, determined.

"Regina-"

"No!" she doesn't listen to him. " _I will_ help you" she insists, shaking her head in desperation. "You will come to my place and we'll practice and I'll beat the rhythm for you and everything will be alright," she stops for a moment to take a breath. "I will not let you to give up."

The tears that start falling down her cheeks are a huge surprise for both of them. Robin doesn't say anything for a moment, he doesn't try to touch her or return her phone and she wonders if he's even there until all of a sudden she's pulled into a tight hug.

"Thank you," he whispers, his arms wrapping tightly around her. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

Regina returns the hug, wrapping her arms around him and rests her head in his shoulder, listens how his heart's rhythm slows down.

"You'll be alright," she whispers, " _We_ will be alright."

He cannot hear her, she knows, but the way his arms tighten around her makes her realize that he understand what she means.

And he's grateful.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you very much to every single one of you for reading and reviewing! Your words mean the world to me! I'm very interested in writing this verse (for some unknown reason it means very much to me) so if you have any prompts, please, send them in!

I really hope you will like this!

 **Prompt: Would love to see one where Robin comes to her house for practicing & helps her through an anxiety attack, something that plagues her all too often. He understands. They get closer :)**

 **Sightless and Soundless (3)**

Robin isn't sure whether he did the right choice when he agreed to come here. To be honest, it was a rather rushed decision; he didn't even have enough time to think – overthink – pros and cons before he agreed.

However, now, when he's standing outside Regina's apartment, there's no turning back.

Exhaling shakily for the umpteenth time, he curses under his breath, his hand only tightening around the box of chocolate he's been holding (he decided it was better to bring chocolate instead of flowers, after all, it was _not_ a date). He feels anxious and unsure and damn it, it is not common for Robin Locksley.

It feels like the first rehearsal in his life.

But it is just Regina, he reminds himself. She saw him more vulnerable than his wife had seen him during 7 years of their marriage. He has nothing to be worried about, except the fact that he made a complete fool of himself that night when he broke down and now she probably feels pity for him.

Robin shakes his head to himself – he cannot think like that. Regina Mills is a wonderful musician, she has a soul of an artist and she must understand his struggle. He needs to get himself together and just knock on the damned door.

Taking one last deep breath, Robin does just that.

As soon as his hand falls to his side, he shifts nervously from one leg to the other, waiting for Regina to open the door. He tries to breathe steadily, keeps telling himself that the meeting is harmless, it is just practice and Regina wants to help him sincerely, she doesn't want to make fun of him for being a _loser_ who cannot catch up with a simple rhythm.

After a few moments, Robin frowns and knocks again, wondering what's taking her so long.

He stands there, cruel thoughts torturing him. He isn't usually so self –conscious and anxious but something about Regina makes him feel like a teenager having his first crush. It must be the fact that she's the first person he met and communicated after losing his hearing.

Robin's brow furrows in confusion as he knocks one more time, harder this time. Of course, she could've changed her mind but she would've told him that. Right?

His heart starts beating faster and faster as horrific visions surrounds him. She's blind, and she may be capable of living on her own but something could have happened to her. Pushed by that thought, Robin takes a sharp breath in and turns down the knob.

Surprisingly, the door is unlocked so he pushes it open and steps into the apartment, taking a quick look around, desperately searching for Regina.

Her apartment is rather small, he notices, and dark, there's no light turned on. He struggles a bit till he turns the lights on and gives himself a tour, his heart trying to jump out of his chest.

The living room is half empty, only a couch with her cello put beside it and a coffee table are there. It is to make her life easier, Robin thinks as he steps even further into her home.

And then he sees her.

Regina is on the floor with her back pressed against the couch, her knees drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around it as she rocks herself back and forth, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her face is twisted in a heartbreaking grimace and Robin is not sure if she's hurt.

"Regina? Are you hurt?" Robin asks but she doesn't turn around to face him, she doesn't even flinch at his voice. It seems as though she didn't even hear him.

Confused and shocked Robin walks up to her. There's a broken photo frame laying on the floor beside Regina, a photo of her and a man who looks about her age (her husband, he supposes), both holding hands, the man holding a boy not older than five in his other arm, smiling from ear to ear.

Robin sighs in relief. At least she's not hurt physically.

"Regina," Robin calls out as he sinks to the floor beside her. He stretches his hand out to touch her but then hesitates and doesn't. For a moment, Robin just watches her, watches as her whole body shakes from the sobs, as tears fall down to the soft carpet. His own heart is breaking into pieces with every fallen tear, as his own eyes fill.

Robin doesn't know if she likes to be comforted or touched, but he cannot watch her suffering like this.

Here goes nothing.

Taking a deep breath, he moves even closer to her and wraps his arms around her, holding her tightly. For a brief moment he holds his breath, afraid of her reaction. Surprisingly, she doesn't even fight. She just falls into his embrace and lets Robin hold her.

He doesn't let go of her until the shaking stops, until her labored breathing becomes calmer, one that doesn't shake her whole body with every breath she takes. He holds her until his t-shirt is drenched in tears. And then he holds her a little bit longer.

Only when he feels her jaw moving against his chest and realizes that she's speaking Robin dares to pull away.

"Regina," he whispers when she lifts her head up. A single tear runs down her cheek and Robin cannot help it but wipe it away with his thumb, letting a tear of his own fall down.

He's so relieved that he found the courage to come here today. Gods knows how long she would have cried if he hadn't found her.

Regina says something again but Robin cannot understand her for her lips are shaking too much, so he quickly pulls the phone out from the pocket of his pants and puts it into Regina's hand. She stops for a moment, her head turned to the side as she touches the device and then her mouth opens as she shakes her head to herself.

She ducks her head down as if she's ashamed, and Robin smiles a bit, thinking that she's cute. Still smiling, Robin's fingers run across her cheeks and he cups her cheek, lifts her face a bit until she's almost looking at him.

There are tracks of tears on her cheeks, her eyes red and puffy and Robin sucks in a sharp breath, taken aback by her beauty. Guilt fills his heart immediately then, how dare he think about her appearance when she's having a break down.

Shaking his head Robin lets his hand travel down from her face to her shoulder and her arm, and he doesn't know if he imagined it, or her body actually tensed for a moment. However, he doesn't let himself focus on that, instead he squeezes her hand in encouragement.

"I was trying to clean off the dust and broke the frame," Regina finally says, handing Robin the phone. A few tears roll down her cheeks again but this time she quickly wipes it away, presses her lips together in a thin line.

Robin has to swallow hard over the lump in his throat.

"Regina, we will buy you a new frame. I will go to the store instantly, if you want me to, and buy you an identical frame."

"It's not just the frame that caused all of this," she admits, motioning to herself, and turns away from Robin, wraps her arms around her knees and rocks herself back and forth again in order to calm down. "I just miss them, you know."

Robin shifts on the floor until he's comfortable, takes that time to just breathe. Of course he knows how much it hurts when you miss someone so dear, he spent months crying over Marian and she wasn't even dead.

"Can you see him?" He asks, not knowing what else to say. "Your son, I mean."

Regina nods her head, takes a breath before she says, "His mother lets me see him a few times per month. But I can't always come to our meetings. My only friend is very busy these months and she's the one who takes me to see Henry and to my appointments to the doctors and well, does everything for me."

Robin hums in acknowledgement.

"It's been five months since I saw Henry for the last time. It is almost Christmas and I haven't seen my baby for so long. It's pure torture," she whispers, her hand falling over her mouth as she squeezes her eyes shut in a cry.

He quickly wraps his arm around her shoulder and squeezes, closing his own eyes.

For a moment they just sit there, Regina trying to put her emotions under control, Robin trying to think of a way to help her. He wants to help her. He needs to help her. She's a wonderful woman with a very good heart and he'd be an asshole to let her suffer.

"I will help you to see your son," Robin states as an idea hits him. He sits a little bit straighter, a smile spreading across his face when Regina turns her face towards him, confused. "I have friends who will take you to see your son."

"Ro-"

"I want to help you," Robin cuts her off feeling a rush of emotions. "You agreed to help a deaf man practice to play a cello, you supported me like no one else in this world, you made my life so much better. I want to do the same. I want to help you to feel at least a little bit of happiness, if you'd let me."

"Robin, I don't know what to say," she shakes her head, her hand fumbling between them until she finds his hand and squeezes it, a few tears running down her cheeks.

"I will not take no as an answer." Robin says simply, squeezing her hand in return. "You will tell me when you feel ready to see your son and then we'll arrange everything." He adds, watching as the corners of Regina's lips lift up in a small, unsure smile.

A smile spreads across Robin's face as he stands up from the floor and helps her to get up and sit down on the couch. He quickly walks to the kitchen and pours a glass of water, then brings it to already calmer Regina. She thanks him, and Robin just smiles, tells her to sit down for a bit while he collects the glass.

When the broken pieces are thrown into the bin and Robin comes back into the living room, he finds Regina sitting on the couch right where he left her, smiling a bit as she turns an empty glass in her hands. He sits down beside her and as soon as she feels that, Regina hugs him, her head rested on his shoulder.

"Thank you."

Robin doesn't need his phone to understand that. He can feel it in the way her arms tighten around him, he can feel it in the way her breathing calms down as she relaxes into his embrace.

Robin only smiles in return.

Perhaps their first practice didn't go as planned but something has definitely changed between them. They weren't just disabled musicians anymore. Now they were broken souls who have found each other and created an unbreakable bond which was meant to ease their pain and change their lives forever.


	4. Chapter 4

I wanted to say a huge thank you to every single one of you who reads and reviews this story! It means the world to me! Please, if you have any prompts, leave them in reviews, messages or tumblr askbox :)

 **Prompt: could you write one where robin introduces Regina to his friends who will together help her see her son? And robin joins too? I can just see Regina being adored & protected by robin's friends because they know robin adores her and they adore her too!**

 **Sightless and Soundless (4)**

Glancing at the watch on his hand, Robin sighs. Regina is late for a few minutes now. It's only a few minutes, yet Robin's heart is beating faster and faster in his chest as horrific thoughts invade his mind.

He's pathetic.

He's pathetic because he cares about her so much.

When he is about to tell him friends that he's going to look for Regina, make sure that everything's alright, the door finally opens and she walks out into the cold. She's dressed in a long black coat with a matching hat and white scarf wrapped around her neck. Her cheeks turn pink from the cold instantly as a few strands of hair fall on her face due to the strong wind.

For a moment Robin forgets how to breathe.

Only when John jabs him hard in the ribs with his elbow does Robin return back to reality. Unwillingly he moves his eyes away from the stunning creature that he gets to call his friend and glances at John who's making a funny face at him.

Robin rolls his eyes, clears his throat and turns back to Regina. She's standing there, her gloved hand wrapped around the railway as she turns her head from one side to another.

"Good morning, milady," Robin greets her as he finally walks up to her, stops a few steps away.

His breath catches in his throat – she's so beautiful. Her face is free of any makeup, like usually, her blind eyes are emotionless, but the smile that stretches across her face lights up the whole world.

Robin grins back unconsciously.

Her lips are moving then and he thinks she's greeting him (hopes so) and then she turns her head to the side in that cute way when she tries to figure out where the sounds are coming from and where should she turn.

Robin closes the gap between them and puts his hand on her bicep. The whole ground is covered in snow and it's rather slippery, he doesn't want her to fall down.

It takes less than dozen steps to reach John's car. Will is standing beside John now, he must have finished his perverted conversation with Anna finally, both of them grinning like idiots.

At this moment Robin hates them.

"Regina, meet my friends," he says, trying to keep the annoyance out his voice (which is very difficult to do when his friends are wiggling their eyebrows in that teasing way). "This is Will and John."

Regina says something, Robin imagines that she's greeting them for she stretches her hand out in front of her for no one in particular, her lips still moving. His friends laugh at whatever she's just said and Regina smiles as well.

Robin wishes he hasn't left his phone in the car so he would know what these two are saying to the woman he adores.

Instead of a handshake, John pulls Regina into a tight hug. Regina's face is surprised but she's smiling, it seems she doesn't mind the touch at all. However, when Will hugs Regina, he says something to her that makes her cheeks turn pinker.

Robin widens his eyes at his friend in a threatening way. He'd asked them not to tease her, not to make her uncomfortable with their stupid jokes. She's had enough of stress already, the last thing she needs is his pervert friends teasing her.

"Alright, why don't we get into the car now?" Robin suggests when Will pulls away from Regina, his voice low and annoyed, embarrassed even, and Regina frowns a bit but nods her head nonetheless, lets him help her get in the car.

(…)

"Are you excited?" Robin asks as they hit the road. He's so thankful for his friends for Will and John took the front seats leaving the back to Regina and Robin.

"I'm more nervous than excited," she admits, anxiously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Henry hasn't seen me in so long, I'm afraid that we're not as close as we once were. I'm afraid that our bond may be disappearing…" she adds, her fingers moving relentlessly against her thighs, playing a soundless melody that should calm her nerves down.

"Everything will be just fine."

Robin sees the text on the screen of his phone and looks up, finds John looking at Regina through the mirror.

His friends are wonderful. They really are. They may be teasing Robin to no end that he doesn't stop talking about Regina, that he's pathetic for it took only a few meetings and he's already fallen for her but when he's down, they encourage him without a doubt and so they're doing that to Regina now.

And then John starts telling a very embarrassing story about Robin trying to ask a girl out for the first time in secondary school. Robin would like to keep these memories to himself, he does not need Regina to know how he made a fool of himself in front of the whole school because he created a fucking song for the girl and sang it in the canteen and the girl just laughed at him.

But the frown is gone from Regina's face and she's smiling now and Robin thinks he can live with this embarrassment if it means that Regina's feeling better.

For a while they continue to tell stories about Robin and his stupid escapades and he stops reading, turns to look at Regina instead. She's smiling, listening to these stories with interest written all over her face. She's stopped drumming her fingers, her posture is more relaxed.

Good.

He knows he shouldn't do this but he can't help himself and he continues to stare at her, taken away by her beauty and soul.

After a few minutes of smiles and easy laughs, something changes. Regina's whole body becomes tense all of a sudden, the happy smile replaced by a nervous one as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously, blushing.

Robin curses mentally as he looks down to his phone.

Shit, someone just told her Robin's smitten.

"Shut up, you guys," Robin says, and Will turns to look at him over his shoulder, mouthing an apology.

He's told them that he likes Regina and he's asked them not to tell her that because she was guarded and he didn't know if she felt the same, he didn't want to risk their friendship. Yet, his friends decided to screw everything up.

Wonderful.

Just wonderful.

"I'm so sorry these idiots made you uncomfortable," Robin says and he takes her hand but she pulls away from his touch, her smile disappearing.

"No, no, it's fine," Regina rushes to assure but how can it be fine if she's pulled away from him? "I'm just anxious to see Henry, that's all. They did nothing wrong," She adds and then turns to the window, her cheeks regaining their natural paleness.

Robin curses his friends.

(…)

Henry is a beautiful boy with brown hair and green sparkling eyes. He's around ten, Robin thinks, as the boy runs straight to Regina. His little arms wrap around her waist and Regina hugs him back so tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks instantly as she holds her son in her arms after so long apart.

She introduces Robin to Henry and they shake hands but then Robin excuses himself, leaving the two of them to catch up.

(…)

"Thank you for today," Regina says as they stop in front of her apartment, handing him her phone (he left his in the car, again). "I don't think you understand how much it means to me," she adds, turning her face away sheepishly.

Her words have Robin grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm very happy to help," he says, touching her hand lightly.

Regina surprises him by wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a tight hug. He doesn't wait a beat and hugs her back, closing his eyes and inhaling her scent. God, he's dreamt about this moment for so many times.

The hug is over too quickly and Robin unwillingly lets her go. She pulls away but doesn't step back, and her face is so close to his, her hot breath hitting his face as he stares at her, his heart beating crazily in his chest.

There are a few tears running down her cheeks and Robin cups her face in his hands, wipes the salty drops from her beautiful face.

All of a sudden the atmosphere between them changes, becomes more intimate than before. They're so close, their breaths mingling between them, Robin's palms warm on her cold cheeks, and unconsciously Robin leans over until their lips are only inches apart.

He's known her for a few weeks only, he can count how many times they've met on one hand's fingers, yet she's all he can think about. He thinks about her when he's playing, and eating and going to sleep, and then he dreams of her and that beautiful voice he'd die to hear.

He should kiss her.

He really should.

But Regina says something then, and her eyes close as she turns her face to the side. Robin realizes that he's made her uncomfortable and he curses under his breath as he pulls away from her, his hands falling to his side.

"I'm not ready."

She says and Robin looks to the phone in his hands, inhaling sharply.

"I'm sorry," he says quickly, feeling like a fool. He likes her a lot, but he'd be more than glad to have her only as a friend. He cannot let his feelings ruin their friendship, he needs to get control of himself. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Thank you for today, it was wonderful," she changes the topic instead and a sincere smile is back on her face.

Robin lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and smiles back, his hand squeezing hers, "You're welcome."

"Well, goodbye then, Robin," Regina says after a moment of silence and releases his hand. Robin sighs as she takes a step back, their intimate bubble fading.

"Goodbye, Regina," he returns.

She gives him one last smile and then turns around and unlocks the door. Robin watches as she walks into the apartment and closes the door behind herself.

When she's safe in her home, Robin turns around and walks to his friends with a huge smile on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you very much to everyone who is reading and reviewing this story! It means a lot to me!

I hope you'll like this part, and if you have any prompts, please, leave them in the reviews or on twitter/tumblr. :)

 **PROMPTS: Robin asks Regina on a date and also they get to know each other's story a bit better. Regina's feeling Robin's dimples for the first time.**

 **Sightless and Soundless (5)**

Robin looks up from his phone to Regina who's been awfully quiet since they've walked into the small diner at the corner of the town. She looks tense and uncomfortable, her fingers moving relentlessly against the menu, making Robin wonder if he has pushed her too far.

Regina texted him this morning, this Christmas morning, and suggested to practice if he had no other plans for the day. Robin didn't hesitate and cancelled his meeting with John and his family and agreed to meet Regina at her place in an hour.

However, on his way to her apartment, Robin realized that they had no rehearsals or upcoming projects until after the middle of January and there was no reason to practice so much anymore (of course there is a need to practice, he's already behind, he needs to get a grip and catch up before he is asked to leave the orchestra).

Thinking that his musician career was over anyways, Robin didn't see the reason why he should be frustrated on this wonderful Christmas Day because of his incapability to play an instrument that once upon a time meant the world to him.

So instead of practicing, he decided to take Regina out for a walk and early lunch.

Surprisingly, Regina wasn't very thrilled about the idea. She stuttered something about hating to be around people and that she would rather stay at home. But Robin managed to persuade her.

However, now when she's sitting in front of him like this, he realizes that she really, _really_ didn't want to come here.

They should've stayed in her apartment and practiced, just like she's asked.

Damn it!

"We can go back to your apartment and play, if you want to," Robin clears his throat and says, "Or I can walk you home and get out of your way. Regina, I'm sorry I dragged you here and made you feel uncomfortable. You know I didn't mean –"

"No, it's fine!" Regina interrupts, assuring, and when Robin looks up from his phone back to her, he finds her sitting a little bit straighter, her eyes closed as her lips move. "It's just… the last time I ate out was during my fifteenth weeding anniversary. It brings a lot of memories, that's all."

A breath catches in Robin's throat as realization hits him. He has no idea how hard it is for her to sit here with him and remember her old and happy life with her late husband.

Guilt floods him and he looks away, swallows hard and apologizes. He really shouldn't have dragged her here. He should have asked what was wrong. He should have listened to her instead of persuading her to come here.

He's an idiot!

"No, Robin, it's alright."

The phone vibrates in his hand, making Robin look down and read her words. He glances back at her then, and her eyes are opened now, her expression alarmed, and he curses himself for ruining this wonderful day for Regina.

Apologizes will not make her feel better, he's figured that out (at least it wouldn't make him feel any better, it would only annoy), so he tries to change the subject, tries to think of anything that could have Regina talking and not thinking about her last dinner with her husband.

He chooses a wrong topic, risks to make her even more upset but curiosity wins and he can't help it.

"You said it was your fifteenth wedding anniversary," Robin starts, gauging Regina's every movement, every reaction. She inhales at his words, her shoulders tensing, but her face is emotionless, so Robin continues hesitantly, "You must've got married very young."

A sigh he didn't know he'd been holding escapes him as a small smile spreads across Regina's face, and she tells him, "I was only nineteen. Everybody wanted to break us apart – my mother, his parents, so we ran away one night and got married. Just like that."

Robin sits a little bit straighter, fascinated by her every word. He wishes he could see her face when she reveals her story to him, he wishes he could see her eyes and a cute frown he imagines is on her face right now.

He wishes he could hear her.

Swallowing, Robin focuses on the text on his phone.

"My mother was furious. She wanted me to marry someone big, you know, business man or a politician. She wanted me to become someone big too, she kept telling her friends I'll be the president one day. And I ruined all of her plans in one day. I dropped out of University and married a man who worked in the stables."

Regina smiles bitterly at the memory, her fingers stopping their melody against the menu for a moment as she just breathes and tries to collect herself. "Mother is still mad at me. She didn't even come to see if I was alright after the robbery. She hasn't even called."

"Regina, I'm so sorry," Robin says, his heart clenching in his chest as he imagines Regina alone and scared in a hospital room, thinking about her dead husband, her lost child and ruined life.

All of a sudden he feels his eyes getting watery and he blinks repeatedly, willing suffocating emotions to go away. She's had her fair share of tragedies and so did he, and they've survived it all. And they're fine.

Regina is not alone and broken anymore, he reminds himself. She's the strongest woman he's ever met and if something happens to her, he'll be there for her. She may not trust him a lot just yet, she may still guard her heart, but Robin will not leave her, he'll prove he's worth her trust, he's worth to be called a friend, and (if she ever wants that) more than just a friend.

"We had a good life," Regina's lips tremble as she says the words.

Robin itches to reach across the table and touch her hand. All he wants to do is wrap her up in his arms and hold her close. But he fights these urges and sits unmoving, lets her continues.

"We had our fights in the beginning but we'd sorted it out. I was living my dream life, working as a music teacher and playing in the orchestra, Daniel was working with horses and writing poetry. We adopted a child. Life was glorious." The satisfied smile drops from her lips and is replaced by a frown as she adds, "And then my husband was killed and I was left blind. Henry was taken away from me and my life just wasn't my life anymore."

This time Robin cannot help himself: he stretches his hand across the table and takes Regina's now shaking cold hand into his, squeezes it, telling her that it's alright, that he understands her and that he's very sorry all of this happened to her.

"I always knew our happiness was doomed. I just didn't think it would end like that."

When Robin looks up from his phone, he finds Regina's head bowed down, her hair cascading around her face like a curtain, her shoulders shaking. He swallows hard and squeezes her hand, wants to stand up and hug her.

When he's about to do just that, she lifts her head up and inhales shakily, pulls her hand away from his and angrily wipes away the tears from her cheeks. She then exhales, says, "I'm sorry for ruining this lunch. I… I'm not the best person to have fun with."

"You're wonderful," Robin says before he can stop himself, and Regina's brow lifts up as she tilts her head, a small, unsure smile edging onto her lips, her eyes still glassy but at least she's not crying, not anymore.

Robin smiles in return.

A waitress brings them coffee a few moments later and for a while they sit in a comfortable silence, sipping their hot drinks, humming at the wonderful taste and smell.

Robin doesn't move his gaze from Regina, he stares at her, watching her shoulder still shake as she struggles to keep emotions under the surface, he watches as her hands tremble around the cup, as she holds it close to her lips.

"I shared my whole life's story with you. It's only fair if you share something with me too," Regina cuts off their silence after a while, and she looks contended now, it seems that talking helped to ease her pain at least a bit, and these few moments of silent helped her to pull herself back together.

Robin swallows a sip of his coffee, and says, "Well, you already know a lot about me, thanks to my friends."

Regina chuckles at that, and Robin grins, enchanted by the sigh in front of him. It's a wonderful to see her smiling.

"Oh, they told me a lot about you, indeed."

For a moment, Robin doesn't know what to say. Regina knows a lot about him, indeed; she knows about Marian and why she left him, she knows how much music meant to him and how his life changed after losing his hearing.

There's one thing, however, which he's not told to many. There's one thing that he doesn't like talking about, but Regina… Regina has her way of understanding things, she has her way of making Robin feel better.

With that in mind, Robin swallows hard and admits, "I have a son too."

Regina's eyes widen as she opens her mouth, surprised.

"What? You've never told me that!"

"Not many people know that. My parents, for example, don't," Robin sighs and shifts a bit, leans against the back of a chair, making himself more comfortable. "A few months after Marian left, her sister called and told me Marian was pregnant. She obviously didn't want me in our baby's life, and at that moment I was so depressed, that I didn't even care. I was happy that my child will not have a disabled parent."

"Robin," this time it is Regina reaching across the table, searching for his hand. Robin grabs her hand, and she squeezes it, saying, "Did you try to contact her now?"

"I did. She got married again. My child has a good father, she'd said." He admits, squeezing her hand back. ". I didn't ask what's my boy's name, though, thought it would be easier and less painful if I didn't know it."

Regina squeezes his hand again and Robin swallows hard over the lump in his throat, cursing himself for being such a mess.

It was supposed to be a nice lunch with stupid jokes and happy conversations, not this emotional vent which bared and opened up their wounds, left them bleeding out.

"We're pathetic," Robin says, a small, sad smile spreading across his face.

Regina agrees, "We really are."

(…)

When Regina and Robin leave the diner, it's already getting dark outside. The town streets are illuminated by the lights and the moon, shinning Christmas trees lighting up every corner of the street, huge snowflakes falling down on the white ground as the two of them start their walk to Regina's apartment.

"We're having a walk in a moonlight," Robin says, his hand tightening around Regina's, squeezing it from time to time in order to save her from falling down.

Regina says something, and Robin wishes he could hear her, wishes he could pull his phone out and read. But it's freezing outside, so his phone is tucked into his coat's pocket safely, and Robin can only imagine what she could've said.

He cannot help but grin, feeling warmth filling his body and soul despite the stinging cold. He likes Regina, he likes her so much, she's the only thing on his mind lately, and now that he has her hand in his and they're walking down the street illuminated by the moonlight, all he can think about is kissing her.

He turns his head to the side and looks at her, at her parted lips, her closed eyes, as she enjoys the cold snowflakes hitting her perfect face and-

All of a sudden Robin loses his balance, his world turning around as he falls to the ground. His hand tightens around Regina's on instinct and before he knows it she's falling onto the snowy sidewalk too.

His heart is racing in his chest as he sits up and moves the hat that's fallen on his face away from his eyes and quickly turns to look at Regina who's laying in the snow beside him. He curses under his breath as he helps her to sit up and moves her cap from her beautiful snowy but screwed up face.

Damn it.

"Are you okay? Does anything hurt?" Robin asks, and he's sure his voice is full of panic.

Desperately she runs his hands up and down her arms, and legs, trying to look for any injuries while her body shakes and only when she lifts her face up he realizes that she's not crying.

She's laughing.

Her whole body shakes from her laughter and Robin exhales, and wraps his arms around her tightly, resting his chin against the crown of her head as relief flooding his veins.

She's alright. She's not injured.

"You scared me so much," he whispers into her ear, inhaling her scent and chuckling too now, thinking that this whole scene would've been hilarious if he hadn't been so worried.

Regina pulls away from him then, and her face is so close to his, her warm breath hitting Robin's face. He tries to study her face, tries to understand what is happening.

"Are you really alright?" he asks.

"I'm perfect," she replies, pronouncing every word slowly so he can understand, and then her palms are moving up his arms and shoulders until her gloved hands cup his cheeks.

Robin cannot help but smile – he's dreamt about this moment for so long, about her warm, soft hands touching his face, and her plum lips pressing against his.

Enchanted by the moment, he wraps his own arms around her waist, holding her cold body close to his, a smile spreading across his face.

Regina's eyes widen, alarming him and he curses himself again for pushing her too far. She's said she's not ready and he's supposed to wait for her, not to make her uncomfortable all the time.

He opens his mouth to apologize but Regina speaks first as a grin spreads across her face, her thumbs rubbing circles on his cheeks.

"I've always had weakness for dimples."

She has to pronounce every word a few times until Robin gets it right but when he does, a grin, matching hers, forms on his lips as well.

Unconsciously Regina leans in, her fingers continuing to stroke his frozen cheeks, touching his dimples again and again. Her own cheeks are flushed, their hot breathes mingling in the small space between their faces, their lips inches apart, noses almost touching.

But Robin remembers the last time he tried to kiss her, he remembers how her body tensed and how she said that she's not ready and just a few hours ago she was crying over her dead husband.

So he tries to pull away from her, giving her the space that he thinks she needs but surprisingly her hands only tighten on his cheeks. Instead of pulling away, Regina leans in. Her hands leave his cheeks and travel down to his arms, and she inhales, her eyes closing.

And then she presses her lips against his.

For a moment Robin is too stunned. Her lips are so soft, so sweet, he's in heaven. He's kissed many women in his life but it has never felt like this, nothing felt as sweet, as pure, as wonderful as does Regina's lips.

It feels like a first kiss.

He recovers quickly, though, and his arms tighten around her waist as he pulls her closer, responding to her kiss, kissing her again and again until they're both out of breath, until their lips are red and swollen and their clothes are wet from the snow.

"Regina-" Robin gasps as they part for air but she only shakes her head, shushing him before she presses her lips against his again.

(…)

"Thank you for the wonderful day," Regina says rather sheepishly, her cheeks still pink from the cold, lips red from too much kissing.

Robin only smiles and leans over, pecks her lips one more time just because he cannot get enough of her. This time, however, Regina pulls away from him before deepening the kiss, and then she's turning around, unlocking the door and disappearing inside her apartment with a promise to see Robin the other day.

When Robin turns around to walks back to his home with a huge smile on his face, he thanks his lucky star for John and Will who pushed him to go to the practice that awful day a few weeks ago.


	6. Chapter 6

I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, follows and favorites this story! It means the world to me! I hope you'll like this chapter! If there's something you'd like to see in this verse, please, leave me a prompt! :)

 **Prompt:** Regina and Robinpractice together, then make dinner together.

Also, this is for those, who wanted to see more of Henry!

Nice reading!

Sightless and Soundless (6)

Regina's hand is insistent against Robin's thigh, beating the rhythm to him despite her current state, despite her trembling chin and teary eyes. She doesn't think he's aware of how she's feeling at this moment, doesn't think he would be playing if he was.

And Regina is grateful that he doesn't know. The last thing she wants is to talk about it.

To be honest, she's been a mess for a few days now because Henry is finally coming over to stay with her and if Emma hasn't changed her mind during the week, the boy will stay with Regina until tomorrow evening.

They haven't spent so much time together since he was taken away.

Regina's been ecstatic at first, she couldn't stop thinking about it, couldn't stop talking about it. However, with each passing day, she came to a realization that it may not be as good as it seemed at the beginning. After all, she's barely capable of taking care of herself (she's getting better at it, she just needs more time to get used to the dark) and now Henry will finally see just how weak she's become.

She's been struggling with self-loathing from the moment she lost her sight, but her emotions got out of control completely during the week. She started crying over stupid things, even the drop of a hat could make her tear up.

It made her angry. Regina Mills is not afraid, embarrassed or weak. She's strong and ready to fight, she does not give up easily and yet she lost herself, she can't find a reason to fight anymore because everything is just too much, too hard, and she's so tired of her traitorous thoughts that she cannot keep it together.

She knew this day was going to be a disaster and she agreed to help Robin practice anyway.

Now she wishes she hadn't.

Closing her eyes tightly, Regina tries to quiet her mind. Instead, she focuses on the rhythm she's beating, on the wonderful sounds that are filling the whole room as Robin plays. He's wonderfully good at it (she's known it already, she's checked out his performances on YouTube after that first night they've met).

Every note, every staccato and legato is perfect, every sound is heavenly beautiful, and he doesn't hear it, he doesn't hear anything; he's cursed not to hear just how wonderful he is.

The emotions he puts into this symphony are indescribable and before Regina knows it, tears well up in her eyes.

She curses herself mentally because she's not supposed to cry, she's supposed to be strong and try not to scare Robin away with her weakness. She likes him, and she thinks he likes her too, but she does not think that even he would be willing to be with someone who's as pathetic as she is.

Inhaling, Regina rests her head against his shoulder and closes her eyes, tries not to think about anything but listen and feel instead.

All of a sudden the music stops and all she can hear is her labored breathing, her shaky inhales and exhales.

She didn't even realize she was crying.

Robin shifts a bit, and Regina lifts her head up from his shoulder, quickly wipes away the tears from her cheeks and tries to put herself under control.

"Regina?" Robin's confused voice reaches her ears at the same time his warm hand touches hers. "What happened? Is everything alright?"

She sighs, feeling anger bubbling up inside her – she's ruining everything in her life, including their practice and relationship with this wonderfully talented man. She has to inhale deeply and count to ten, then exhale, repeat it a few times until the anger becomes less consuming, until she's strong enough to say, "I'm fine."

For a moment, Robin doesn't say anything, but she knows he's staring at her for his warm breath is reaching her face, his (wonderful) forest scent is invading her nostrils. He's staring at her, gauging her reactions and she bows her head down self-consciously, letting her hair hide her face, cursing herself over and over again.

Robin is moving then, turning and walking away, and Regina wonders just what he's doing. Is he leaving? Did he get tired of her already?

But then she feels the couch sinking from the weight and after a moment Robin's arms are wrapped around her as he whispers that everything will be alright. He kisses the crown on her head and her forehead and her cheeks and nose and she tries to settle down, to let his touch ground her and not let her freak out.

"Is it about Henry?" Robin asks after a while of silence. It wasn't hard to figure out, Regina thinks, after all she's been talking non-stop about her son and today she hasn't even mentioned him.

Feeling calmer, Regina frees herself out of Robin's embrace and straightens a bit, nods her head. She's not sure if Robin can hear her, doesn't know if he has his phone in his hands but she inhales and tells him anyway, "Henry has only seen me a few times after I became blind. Tonight he's coming over and he'll see me in all my glory, Robin. He'll finally see just how pathetic I've become."

She has probably never felt this useless, not even when her mother used to remind her how pathetic she is every single day.

How is she supposed to explain to Henry that they're going to eat pizza because she cannot cook anymore? How is she going to survive not seeing his cute face when he tells her about his life with his new mom?

It was a really bad idea to invite him here.

"You're not pathetic," Robin disagrees, his voice strong and steady. So he's had the phone with himself, after all. He touches Regina's hand and she wraps it around his instinctively, hoping to find some comfort in his hold. "You're struggling but it's alright. Henry is a smart boy, I'm sure he won't mind if you drop something or do something not right."

"Robin, I'm his mother," she shakes her head, her voice shaking, "I'm supposed to be an example, not… this," she motions to herself and feels bile rising up her throat. Damn it, she's going to be sick if her mind won't be quiet.

"You're wonderful, Regina," Robin says, and if she could, she would roll her eyes at him. "You're the strongest woman and your son will not see you as pathetic or weak. He'll see you as a hero who chose to fight for a second chance; a hero who chose to fight and live again no matter how badly hurt she was."

Regina feels tears collecting in her eyes for different reasons now.

What did she do to deserve Robin?

She releases his hand and moves hers up to his arms and shoulders until she cups his cheeks. Robin smiles a bit until she feels his dimples, and she's so damn sure he did it on purpose, just to make her smile. Shaking her head, she pulls him closer until their lips touch.

"What's Henry's favorite food?" Robin asks when their lips part, and Regina imagines that he's smiling now, his dimples appearing on his handsome face. She smiles too. "I cannot help you much but at least I can help you prepare dinner for your son."

"You don't have to," Regina shakes her head, her palms finding their place on his cheeks again, thumbs finding those dimples and she exhales, feeling warmth spreading all over her, much calmer now. God, she's weak for this man. "You already do a lot for me, Robin. I will never be able to repay you."

"Nonsense," Robin shakes his head and presses his lips against hers one more time. This time, she parts her lips a bit, deepening the kiss, and Robin's arms tighten around her, holding her closer.

When the kiss breaks, Robin rests his forehead against hers, and Regina's hands leave his face and rest on his shoulders while she struggles to catch her breath, a stupid smile spreading across her face.

"So, what are we making tonight, milady?" Robin asks, and Regina cannot see his face, cannot feel it but she knows he's smiling.

"Lasagna."

She has to repeat the word a few times to him for the phone got lost when they were kissing, and she doesn't know if he really doesn't understand her or just makes her repeat the word for fun but she doesn't mind. She likes his playful side, likes it even more now when it's keeping her from having a panic attack.

"Is it the right time to admit that I have never cooked anything else besides omelet?" Robin asks as he helps Regina stand up, his voice teasing and she cannot help but slap him on the shoulder, chuckling.

(…)

Robin made Regina sit down on the chair and not move a finger. She insisted that she wants to help, the reason to prepare this meal was to make her feel better and she'll feel terrible if she just sits there, commanding for Robin.

He'd pitied her then and passed her a knife and an onion. She was extremely cautious while doing her task for the last time she cut an onion, she accidently cut her fingers and the wound was so deep, it required stitches but Robin does not need to know that.

Robin started telling stupid jokes and stories to her then, every few minutes turning around and kissing her nose and forehead and cheeks, keeping her mind busy, keeping her self-loathing at bay.

However, when Regina hears the doorbell, the knife falls down from her hands to the table, her heart starts beating wildly in her chest, her hands shaking as all the feelings from before come back.

The meal is not prepared, she's sure she looks like a mess, and Robin is still here.

Damn it.

"Henry's here," Regina whispers to herself, standing up from the chair, and grips the edge of the table with shaky hands to steady herself. "Robin, we haven't finished preparing lasagna, and –" her voice is shaking, her mind is overworked and she feels like she's going to be sick again.

"Calm down," Robin says, his voice steady and calm as it always is when she's panicking. He takes her hand in his, gives it a quick squeeze, "Take a deep breath and go open the door. I'll make sure not to burn anything until you come back."

Right.

She can do this.

Regina inhales shakily, nods her head, then exhales and inhales again until she finally forces her body to turn around. She walks to open the door on shaky legs, holding the wall for support.

"Mom!" Henry exclaims, throwing himself into her arms as soon as she opens the door. She returns the hug, wrapping her arms around him tightly, feeling tears collecting in the corners of her eyes for the umpteenth time today.

"I missed you so much, my little prince," she whispers, her arms tightening around the boy.

They stand in each other's arms until a shattering sound from the apartment startles both of them, makes Henry pull away from Regina.

She shifts her weight from one leg to another uneasily, and explains, "My friend is here. He's helping me to make dinner."

Henry doesn't say anything, only hums in response and Regina sighs, curses herself for not asking Robin to leave before Henry came.

However, she smiles at Henry and takes his hand and they both walk into the apartment. The boy leaves his backpack in the living room and then they make their way into the kitchen, Regina's heart threatening to jump out of her chest the whole time.

It's been only two years since Henry lost his father and he may not be thrilled about the idea of another man in his mother's life.

This day is a disaster, Regina thinks bitterly.

Robin greets Henry as soon as they step into the kitchen, making Regina's heart stop for a moment. She would give everything away just to see Henry's face right now, just to see how her son reacts to meeting the same strange man for the second time.

Henry greets Robin back and from the sounds she thinks they're shaking hands, and Regina feels as if a very heavy stone was lifted off of her chest. At least Henry doesn't sound grumpy.

"Would you like to help me?" Robin asks Henry as Regina sits down on the chair again. Her son must agree because another chair is moving and then he's sitting down, telling that he'll finish cutting the onions.

Regina's eyes fill with tears again but she blames the onions.

(…)

The evening turned out quite well. Henry surprised both Regina and Robin when he insisted that Robin has to stay and try the lasagna. Robin didn't object, of course, and joined them. The meal was not as good as it could be, but Regina praised the boys, feeling indescribable warmth in her chest because her son and her… potential boyfriend were getting on so well.

However, when Robin had to leave, Regina felt as if her heart was going to jump out of her chest. They hadn't talked about how they were going to introduce themselves to Henry (Robin was not even supposed to meet Henry in the first place). And Regina feared that if Robin kissed her goodbye, everything may crumble down.

But he didn't. He just hugged her and whispered that he'll see her soon, bid them good night and left.

Regina sighed in relief.

(…)

After a quick break down while changing into her pajamas, Regina makes her way to Henry's new room. She keeps her hand pressed against the wall no matter how pathetic it makes her feel but it seems better than to fall onto her face in front of her son.

When she finally steps into the room after a few stops in the hallway to calm herself down, she hears the pages turning.

He's reading.

Tears collect in her eyes again as she remembers how she used to read to Henry every single evening, book after book, story after story. He had an overactive imagination, her little prince, and these stories fascinated him to no end.

She's sure if she hadn't broken down a few minutes ago, she would be crying now.

"I like Robin," Henry says when Regina clears her throat and walks further into the room, sits down on the edge of the bed. She smiles a bit at his words, but doesn't say anything, lets Henry continue. "He's funny and a musician and he helps you."

For a brief moment, his words make Regina feel pathetic again, but she forces herself to remember Robin's words, she forces herself to think that Henry sees her like a hero that she's not. The tears fill her eyes again but she forces a smile, telling Henry that Robin is a good man.

"I miss dad," the boy says suddenly, his voice a little shaky.

Those tears, that have been threatening to fall, finally spill free but she doesn't bother to hide them, she doesn't bother to pretend that the loss of her husband doesn't hurt her anymore.

Instead of wiping them away and faking a smile, she lies down on the bed beside her not-so-little prince and finds his hand, takes it and squeezes. "I miss him too, baby. Every single day," Regina admits and presses her lips in a thin line, swallowing down a sob.

Wordlessly, Henry moves closer to her, curls into her side, his head rested on her shoulder, in the way he used to do when he was a little boy, in the way he used to do when their lives weren't ruined. Regina wraps her arm around her son and kisses on top of his head, feels his body trembling. She only tightens her hold, and wishes that one day it won't hurt that much anymore.

It doesn't take long until both mother and son fall into a dreamless sleep, finally finding peace again in each other's embrace.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you very much to everyone who reads, reviews, favorites and follows this story! It means the world to me! I hope you'll like this new chapter!

This chapter fits no prompt (I realized it after I finished it) but I'm posting it anyway. Nice reading! :)

(...)

 **Sightless and Soundless (7)**

Inhaling deeply, Robin shifts his weight nervously from one leg to another and continues to stare at the front door. It's usually the time when Regina leaves her home and takes a quick walk to the opera where they practice but she hasn't been in practice for a whole week. As if it wasn't enough, their conversations were very brief and rushed, as if she was avoiding him.

And so Robin got worried.

That's why he finds himself standing in front of her door, feeling like a complete stalker.

Perhaps it wasn't the perfect idea to come here and just wait for her like some serial killer waiting for his victim but Robin had no idea how to reach her otherwise. So he pushed these strange thoughts away and just decided to wait for her outside her apartment. Then she would have no excuse to ignore him anymore and tell him what is happening.

Robin waits for a few more minutes until finally the door is opened and Regina walks out.

She looks gorgeous, as always.

He watches as she inhales and then her hand tightens around the railway as she takes a few steps down the stairs. For a moment, he just stares at her, taken aback by her beauty. Relief floods his veins as he finally sees that she's not hurt, she's fine.

"Good evening, milady," Robin finally clears his throat and greets Regina.

She jumps a little at his, obviously, unexpected voice, her hand tightening around the railway even more, her knuckles turning white. Her other hand falls over her heart and Robin imagines her cursing him for scaring the shit out of her.

"I didn't mean to startle you, sorry," he apologizes sincerely, and curses himself for being such an idiot. Regina waves her hand in what he hopes is a dismissive gesture and says something, something he cannot hear.

Robin walks up to her then and touches her hand that's holding the railway, and she doesn't tense at his touch, doesn't pull away so he counts it as a good thing.

To be honest, he didn't know what to expect when he came here. She was avoiding him and his imagination prepared millions of scenarios of why she did that and all of them involved her hating him.

But she's not pulling away from him, in fact, her other hand now is touching his and moving up his arm and up his shoulder until it finally reaches his cheek and settles there. Robin smiles, and she smiles in return when she feels his dimples and then she's leaning over for a kiss.

The kiss is brief and Regina is pulling away quickly, saying something.

Robin quickly takes his phone out of his jeans pocket and unlocks it, opens that wonderful app she introduced him a while ago and reads her words.

"We'll be late for practice," she tells him and attempts to walk but Robin stops her, his hand tightening around the one he's holding, the other wrapping around her waist.

Gods, he's missed her.

"First tell me, are you alright?" he asks sincerely worried, and his hand only tightens around her.

Regina smiles a little, probably flattered by his worried tone.

"Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, first of all, I haven't seen you in practice for a whole week," Robin points out, and Regina nods her head, says something that his phone doesn't catch. Sighing, he continues, "second, you don't answer most of my calls, and those strange messages that you're busy make me anxious." He admits, "I thought you needed space and I'm very willing to give it to you but you have to tell me because I overthink things and-"

"I'm sorry." Regina squeezes his hand, cutting of his rambling. She has a small unsure smile on her face as she admits, "I didn't mean to worry you. I've just been busy, very busy and I'm…. I'm sorry."

"Are you sure?" Robin asks, still doubtful. "Did Henry say something about us? Because if he did, you have to tell me. I'll step aside if that's what you want, just please, don't lie to me." His mind flashes back to Marian and all the lies she's told him before finally leaving him, and he wouldn't want to repeat that. He prefers to be hurt by the truth than soothed by lies.

"Robin!" The hand that's been holding his squeezes again, the other hand settling on his cheek as she strokes it and Robin feels like a fool. He didn't mean to act like that, he came here to have a funny teasing talk while he walks her to practice.

Damn it!

"Henry likes you!" she assures him, "I've just been really busy."

"Busy? Doing what?" Robin asks in disbelief.

Regina looks uncomfortable for a moment, maybe even embarrassed as she closes her eyes. She swallows hard then and tells him, "I've been learning braille."

Robin's mouth opens in surprise. From all the scenarios he's hand in his head (and he had many of them) none involved her learning braille. She's said during one of their dates that accepting that she's blind is hard enough and she could never learn braille because to her it would mean admitting that she'll never get her vision back. She wasn't ready to do that.

It seems she's changed her mind.

"That's wonderful, Regina!" Robin says, smiling from ear to ear and Regina smiles a bit too, her cheeks turning pink. "May I ask what made you decide to do that?" he asks curiously.

"When Henry was little, we had this little tradition to read bedtime stories every single night. Daniel and I switched and read him many books but then…" she trails off and when Robin glances from his phone to her, he finds her standing with her eyes closed as she inhales deeply and exhales, her whole body shaking.

Robin runs his hand up and down her back soothingly for a few times until she finally exhales and continues to speak, "I felt so useless last week when he was here, not being able to read to him made it even worse. So I decided to learn braille."

Robin's heart aches for her and her teary expression makes him want to hug her and never let her go, but instead he says, "You're so wonderful. I'm so proud of you, Regina."

Regina smiles shyly in response.

"I did not mean to ignore you," she tells him after a moment of silence. "I knew you would be your supportive self over this and would want to help me, for example take me to classes and all that." Robin cannot help but agree with her. "And I had to do this on my own. I wanted to be independent again. To be honest, this is the first thing I've done without any help and… it feels good."

Robin nods in understanding. "I'm happy for you then."

He kisses her temple then, right over her scar, and Regina sighs and relaxes in his embrace. A small smile stretches across Robin's face as she nuzzles her face into his chest and inhales his, as she calls it, forest scent.

"Can I ask you on a date after our practice?" Robin asks making Regina pull away from him with a surprised expression on her stunning face. "I've always been interesting in learning braille and you're a wonderful teacher."

His words have Regina laughing, and as she throws her head back, Robin's heart clenches – what wouldn't he do just to her this sound for one second.

"You have never been interested in learning braille." She states then, taking a step away from him. "You're just looking for an excuse to ask me out again."

"You wound me," Robin says as a huge smile spreads across his face. He quickly leans over and pecks her lips before adding, "In return I could teach you sign language. You will not have to shout on me anymore when I don't have my phone."

Regina smiles then, shaking her head at him playfully. "Very funny."

Robin laughs and the smile only widens on Regina's face before she wraps her arm around his neck and leans closer to kiss him. Robin's arms tighten around her as he holds her close, their mouths opening, deepening the kiss.

"I can teach you braille after the practice," she tells him when they break apart, "But now we must really get going, otherwise we'll be late," she adds before quickly leaning for another kiss. She misses his lips and kisses his cheek instead and he just laughs at her, making her cheeks turn pink.

Robin takes her hand in his then and finally steps out of her way, slowly helping her climb those last few steps before they make their way to the practice. The huge smile stays on his face for the rest of their walk.

He cannot wait to learn braille.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello! Happy New Year! Here's a new chapter of Sightless and Soundless! In case you missed it, I posted two one-shots set in the future so if you're interested, you can find them in my account (the first one is called 'Sightless and Still Soundless', the second one - Sightless and Soundless: CHRISTMAS).

If you have any prompts for this story, you can leave them as a review here or send them to my ask box on tumblr or curiouscat (i'm ourheroregina everywhere).

Nice reading! Let me know what you think!

 **Sightless and Soundless - 8**

 **Prompt:** Regina teaches Robin braille & Robin teaches Regina sign language on one of their dates.

When Regina invited Robin to her place after the rehearsal to learn braille, Robin agreed without a second thought. He thought it would be fun and he couldn't have turned down a chance to spend more time with her.

So he came here to learn something new, something that was very important to Regina. Yet he finds himself not _listening_ to a single word she says as he stares at her flawless face.

He put his phone away a while ago, knowing full well that his brain will not cooperate when such a stunning woman is sitting right in front of him. Robin blames the lack of meetings on his inability to concentrate on a task at hand.

He's been staring at her for a few minutes now, watching her brows knit together as she explains something that must be more difficult. Robin smiles at her, his fingers itching to touch her cheeks, his lips – to touch hers.

Somewhere in the back of his head, a quiet voice reminds Robin just how creepy he is for staring at her like this when she has no idea, and yet he cannot tear his eyes away from her.

It doesn't take long until Regina's hand tightens around Robin's and she stops dragging his fingers over the miniscule dots on the paper. Her beautiful face turns into a frown, and Robin reads his name falling off of her lips in what looks like confusion.

He's been caught.

Quickly, unlocking his phone, Robin opens his now most used app and reads.

"What's wrong?" Regina asks, arching one eyebrow.

Robin feels heat rising up his neck and into his cheeks from embarrassment. However, he clears his throat and admits, "Nothing's wrong, I've just been… staring at you."

Regina's frown turns into a surprised expression as her mouth opens but nothing comes out. She shakes her head a bit as if to shake off the unexpected surprise, then tucks a strand of hair behind her ear – a habit when she's nervous – and Robin shifts on the couch, ready to apologize.

But then a playful smile makes its way onto her face and she lifts her face a bit as if to look him in the eye as she asks, "And did you like what you see?"

Robin's breathe catches in his throat as he lifts his gaze from the phone screen to look at Regina. He would die to hear these words out loud.

Leaning over, Robin cups her cheek and turns her face a bit to the side so her lips are in line with his, and whispers, "You're stunning in every way," and presses his lips against hers.

At first Regina laughs into the kiss at his choice of words, and then her lips are moving and she's probably saying something but Robin is in no mood to break the kiss and take his phone, so instead he presses his lips against hers again as his arms find their way around her waist and pull her closer.

When he was younger, he had kissed many girls, and yet kissing Regina feels like a whole new experience. He doesn't know what it is that makes everything about her special, but every smile, every touch, every kiss makes his heart beat faster, makes him wish that this feeling would last forever.

When Regina brushes the tip of her tongue against his lips, Robin opens up more than willingly, his arms only tightening around her, pulling her even closer. Her arms find their way around his neck and wind there as she keeps kissing him.

When they finally break apart for a quick breath of air, Regina shifts a bit in Robin's hold and he's ready to let go of her and put some distance between them but instead Regina moves even closer to him, gingerly straddling him. And once she's sitting on his lap, she dives right back into the kiss.

Robin's hand rests on the curve of her hip and for a moment, he just lets himself get lost in the sensation of her lips on his, her body pressed flush against his.

He was not expecting to find himself in a position like this when Regina invited him to learn braille after the rehearsal.

With the heat spreading through all of his body, he lets his hands wander from her hip up her back slowly and the way Regina shudders at his touch makes Robin even more excited. Too lost in the heat of the moment, his hand travels to her front of its own accord and he caresses her breast before giving with a light squeeze, moaning at the feeling.

All of a sudden Regina's body becomes tensed like a string and her lips freeze against Robin's. Before Robin registers what is happening she's pulling away from him, hurriedly climbing off of his lap all the while shaking her head. Her cheeks are flushed, her lips red from all the kissing and it looks like she's finding it hard to breathe, but it's not the kissing that has her struggling, it's panic.

"Regina?" he calls her name worriedly, his own desire all but forgotten.

Once she's standing on her feet, she takes a step back and then another until the back of her legs collides with the coffee table. Robin grabs her hand just in time to stop her from falling, but Regina shakes his touch off, wobbling on unsteady legs.

Robin notices that her lips are moving and he quickly grabs his phone from the couch.

"I can't-" she starts, and when Robin looks up from the screen to her, her eyes are full of tears and she's still shaking her head.

With his free hand Robin cups her cheek to stop her nervous movement. She closes her eyes and exhales shakily when his skin makes contact with hers, but she doesn't flinch away from him, so Robin takes it as a good sign and tells her, "Regina, it's alright. Breathe."

"No, it's not!" From her expression and body language it looks like it was an exclamation and then she's pulling away from Robin's touch, moving her hands into her hair and pulling, her eyes squeezing shut. Robin wants to touch her but instead keeps his distance, watches closely her every move trying to decide what to do next.

He still hasn't figured out what exactly causes her panic attacks so suddenly because sometimes she's okay with kissing and touching and other times, even a small kiss has her turning sad and asking him to leave. And he wishes he knew, he wishes he would know when to stop.

It takes only a moment but then Regina's body relaxes and her arms fall to her sides. She straightens a bit and angrily wipes a few fallen tears away from her cheeks before she turns towards Robin.

"I'm sorry," she says, and there's another tear falling down her cheek, "I'm really sorry but you have to leave, Robin. It's not going to work out anyways, so why do we keep pretending that we're going to make it into something more? It's useless and-"

"Regina, it's alright-"Robin starts but she cuts him off.

"No, it's not!" she exclaims and her whole body tenses again from her anger, and Robin is not sure if she's mad at him or herself or the universe. "It's been two years since my husband died and I still love him. I love him, Robin, and I don't think that I'll ever stop." She takes a deep breath that makes her whole body shudder and continues, "I like you, I really do, but I love Daniel and it feels like cheating and-"

There are tears running down her cheeks now and Robin feels guilt flooding his veins. She's been through more suffering than one is able to go throughout life and yet he's bringing even more pain into her life. It's the last thing he wants.

"It's going to be okay," Robin tries to assure her but when his hand touches hers, she shakes his touch off right away and it seems to only fuel her anger.

"No!" she exclaims, "It's been more than two years, Robin, and I can't move on. I'm weak and broken and –"

"You're none of that!" Robin interrupts, raising his voice over hers. He's sure she has plenty of adjectives to describe herself but none of them are true. "You're struggling, but it doesn't make you any less brave or strong. Your life was torn apart, but you still get up every single day and move on. You're the strongest person I've ever met, Regina."

For a moment she just stands there with her eyes squeezed shut until all of a sudden her body starts to shake. This time Robin doesn't hesitate and pulls her into his arms, wrapping her in a tight hug.

He holds her in his arms, whispering sweet nothings into her ear until the shaking of her body turns into a less violent, until she slowly starts to calm down. He then takes a few needed steps and sits them down on the couch and holds her in his arms just a little bit longer.

"It's okay to love your husband, Regina. It's okay if you're not ready for us to be more. We're learning how to live again and of course there's going to be obstacles in our way," he tells her, running his hand over her back in what he hopes is a soothing manner. "But don't you dare to call yourself weak! You've been through so much and I'll forever admire you for that."

Regina nods her head against his chest before pushing away from him. Robin lets go of her, noticing the way her breathing is less and less labored. Every breath she takes doesn't make her whole body shake anymore and she's definitely calming down now.

"I'm sorry," Regina says, wiping the tears from her cheeks with a sleeve of her sweater. "This is so embarrassing. I don't know why I panic so quickly whenever we are together."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Robin assures her, and leans over to press a kiss against her lips but stops himself right before their lips collide. He clears his throat and pulls back, and Regina shifts a bit on the couch and she looks terribly uncomfortable.

Trying to make the situation less awkward, Robin suggests, "How about we forget all of this happened and you let me teach you sign language?"

Regina looks unsure and still uncomfortable as she shifts on the couch again and Robin's pretty sure that she would like nothing more than to be left alone right now but he will not do that, not when he knows that as soon as he's on the other side of the door, she'll start crying and overthinking things. She's done plenty of that already.

"It would be fun," he assures her, and then quickly adds in a playful tone, "And it would be useful, because I'm not going away anytime soon, and I'm terrible at lip-reading."

For a moment, Regina just sits there, playing with her fingers as she considers his offer.

Once she makes up her mind, her shoulders loosen a bit and she nods her head, "Fine."

"So, let's start," Robin says excitedly, relieved that she's not kicking him out.

When a small, barely there smile makes its way onto Regina's face, Robin feels as if a very heavy weight was lifted off of his chest.

They're going to be alright, he thinks.

When Robin leaves Regina's apartment a few hours later, she's smiling and laughing freely again; the little incident's all but forgotten. She'll most likely think about it again once Robin is out of the door, and she'll probably hate herself for it, but at least he leaves her with a quick peck on the lips, a heart-warming smile on her face and a promise to meet on Friday before the rehearsal for a cup of coffee.


	9. Chapter 9

**Prompt** : Robin buys Regina kids' books in Braille so she can still read to Henry!

For the last few weeks, things between Robin and Regina were difficult. She seemed distant all the time, had even cancelled some of their dates and didn't attend rehearsals. Her smile wasn't sincere anymore. Her expression was conflicted, even the way she held herself seemed odd.

Robin didn't know whether it was their little make out session that threw her off so much, or if there was something else going on in her mind because she refused to share whatever was troubling her. Robin respected that, even though the unknown drove him mad.

When they were on a date last week after the practice – it took lots of convincing until she finally agreed to have coffee with him - she looked miserable. Her replies were short, her head ducked down. Robin noticed that her fingers were drumming against her thigh the whole evening, and his chest tightened as an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.

They were about to leave the café when all of a sudden her phone rang. Her face lightened up immediately after picking up, and Robin didn't need to ask who was calling, the smile of her face was eloquent enough – it obviously was Henry.

As Regina told him later, the boy was allowed to come and visit her the upcoming weekend.

For the first time in weeks a sincere smile spread across Regina's face, her eyes were full of unshed tears, but there was a spark awakened within her. She looked almost like herself again.

Robin felt relieved to see her like that, but her smile soon disappeared and by the time he walked her to her apartment, Regina was melancholic again. When he asked if she wanted to talk about whatever was troubling her, she refused and closed the door right in front of Robin's face without as much as saying goodbye.

Robin decided to give her space and he didn't call her the whole week, he was even prepared not to approach her at the rehearsal, but then she didn't show up at all, and he became concerned.

That's why he's standing in front of her door on an early Saturday morning, clutching a bag from the bookstore in one of his hands while he knocks on her door. He's shifting his weight from one leg to another nervously as he waits for her to open up.

It doesn't take long for Regina to appear in the doorway.

She greets him with a wide smile, her sightless eyes are shining with joy. She's dressed in a pair of black pants and a dark red blouse, and Robin swallows hard – she looks absolutely stunning. Her head is turned down a bit as if she would be looking at someone less tall than Robin.

"Good morning, milady."

The smile drops from her face as soon as she hears his voice. Her gorgeous face turns into a frown as she presses her lips into a thin line.

He manages to pull out his phone just before she speaks.

"You aren't supposed to be here," she states, crossing her arms over her chest as if she's annoyed.

Well, that's new.

Robin obviously ruined her mood, so he tries to lighten things up, jokes, "You shouldn't open the door to everyone. What if I was a criminal?"

It turns out to be an entirely wrong thing to say. Her mouth drops open in what he guesses is shock, and before he can realize what he's said, her eyes are full of tears.

Shit, shit, shit!

Damn it!

"Regina, I'm so sorry," he apologizes quickly but when he stretches his hand out to touch her, she shakes his hand off and takes a step back. "I didn't mean that. It was a stupid joke. I didn't think. I'm sorry."

He's a bastard.

For a few moments, she just stands there in front of him, her arms wrapped around herself as she tries to hold herself upright. All kind of emotions flash on her face; one moment she looks ready to punch him, the other it seems like she's going to fall apart at any second.

Only when the shaking of her body turns stronger, she finally breaks down. Her lips part as tears start falling down her already flushed cheeks.

Robin closes the small distance between them immediately, walks up to her and wraps his arms tightly around Regina's shaking body.

She struggles against him at first, tries to push him away but Robin doesn't let go. He whispers assuring nothings and kisses her temples a few times until she finally collapses into his embrace, her arms gripping at his sides as she cries.

They stay in the doorway for a while, holding tightly onto one another, taking comfort from each other's presence. Soon her crying becomes much calmer; the violent shaking doesn't torment her body with every breath she takes.

Only when her breathing turns back to somewhat normal, Robin loosens in arms from around her and takes a step back. Regina releases him reluctantly, her hands staying on his arms even after he's pulled away.

Gently, Robin cups her cheek and lifts her bowed head up. Her cheeks are wet, eyes red and puffy. It makes Robin's heart clench in his chest – for the last few weeks that's all he's been seeing and he hates that, hates that fact that she's been hurting for so long.

"What happened?" he asks in what he hopes is comforting voice.

Regina tries to duck her head down again but he strokes her cheek and doesn't let her hide herself from him, not anymore. He's given her plenty of space, but whatever it is that's troubling her is breaking her apart and Robin cannot stand by and watch her suffer anymore.

"Don't lie and tell me that you're fine, Regina," he adds then, his thumb brushing away another falling tear. "Please, talk to me."

He has both of his hands on her cheeks, stroking lovingly so when her lips start moving, he tries his best to understand what she's saying – there's no way on Earth he'll stop the comforting touch to get out his phone.

"It's… Yesterday… It's been three years since I lost Daniel."

Her lips are trembling as is her jaw, but she manages to pronounce the words in the most understandable way possible. Once the sentence is out of her mouth her eyes squeeze shut, but not even that helps to stop the tears.

"Oh, Regina," he whispers and pulls her into his arms again, his own heart breaking for her.

He's a bastard. He came here joking about the robbers while her life was torn apart by these criminals. What was he even thinking?

He holds her close for as long as she needs and only when she's fully calmed down, they make her way further into apartment, Robin grabbing the bookstore's bag from the ground – it must have fallen down sometime between the comforting touches.

Regina sits down on the couch in the living room, and almost immediately ducks her head down again, her hands rested on her lap. Robin sits at the other end of the couch, putting the bag he's brought beside himself.

"I'm so sorry, Regina," Robin says when he notices that her lower lip is trembling again.

He hates to see her like this; hates that she looks as if she's ashamed of herself.

Without words Robin understands that she needs a moment to collect herself, so he tries not to stare at her and looks around the apartment instead. There are two empty cups placed on the coffee table in the living room and the photo frame that's been broken a few months ago is standing in its usual place, repaired.

He thinks that her friend has visited, helped her to clean up the apartment and prepare for Henry's arrival.

When Robin turns to Regina again, she stills looks emotional, her hands are trembling but her head is lifted a bit and she looks ready to speak.

Robin asks her to wait a moment, then quickly fishes his phone out of his pocket, unlocks it and focuses on the screen (it takes a lot of will to tear his eyes away from Regina and focus on his phone).

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break down like that," she apologizes, her cheeks turning redder from what Robin supposes is embarrassment.

She has nothing to be embarrassed about, though, and Robin tells her that, and then assures her that she doesn't have to be embarrassed about her feelings, not with him.

Regina nods her head, even though she doesn't look convinced by his words. Then she wets her lips and says, "Henry is coming over because we need to be together this weekend. We've been through hell because of this, and… no matter how broken I am, we still survived this, together."

"You're not broken, Regina," Robin shakes his head disapprovingly even though she cannot see him. "You've said so yourself: you've gone through hell, and you've survived. You're so much stronger than you think."

She looks ready to argue, but then sighs, her shoulders slumping again.

"I think this weekend Henry needs me as much as I need him."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Robin asks softly. "You haven't been yourself for so long and I didn't realize what was going on. I would have supported you."

"You like me, Robin," she says, a small but sad smile making its way onto her face. "We're almost dating and I keep thinking about my late husband. I should be able to move on, but I can't-" her lower lips starts to tremble but she inhales deeply, and forces herself to continue, "I still cry every single night over Daniel. Do you realize how wrong it is that I spend my days making out with you and then at night I cry over my dead husband?"

"How is it wrong, Regina?" he asks, his own heart breaking at her pain. It makes him feel even worse now that she's told him that he's bringing her pain unintentionally. "Daniel's been a part of your life for so long, and you loved one another. I don't see why missing him is wrong."

Her face turns into a ridiculous expression and he thinks she scoffs at his words.

Robin rushes to say, "We're friends. Despite my feelings for you, I'm your friend first. You can always talk to me about Daniel and how you feel about him. I don't mind."

Regina bites her lips, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

"It feels wrong, Robin. I feel like I'm betraying both of you. You're so good to me, and I keep thinking about Daniel, and I love him but my heart starts beating faster whenever you're around and-"

"Would you feel uncomfortable if I talked about Marian?" Robin cuts off her ramblings with a firm question.

"No, of course not."

"When why do you feel that you talking or even thinking about Daniel is wrong?"

"Because I love him, Robin!" she exclaims, her eyes filling with tears again. "I can't let him go, I love him. And you make me feel things, wonderful things, but all I feel in the end is guilt. I still love him, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to forget him."

"You don't have to forget him, I don't even think it is possible. And that's okay," Robin assures her in a steady voice. He stretches his hand out and takes hers trembling one in his. He strokes his thumb over the back of it, giving it a tight reassuring squeeze.

"I've been feeling awful for weeks," she admits and she looks awfully uncomfortable saying this. Inhaling deeply, she adds, "I've started taking my medication again to help me deal with my feelings and anxiety."

"That's okay."

She furrows her brow at the lack of judgment in his reply, he thinks, then continues, "My emotional state always gets worse when the day approaches but this year… I feel like I'm falling apart, you know. I should be happy because I get to see Henry more and I have you, but I'm feeling awful as if I'm betraying Daniel."

Robin's heart clenches in his chest. He has always known that Regina still loved Daniel, he knew that she was unsure about her feelings towards him. She's asked to take things slow many times, and he respected that, never pushed her. What he didn't know was the whole situation was tearing her apart.

"Have I ever told you that Daniel died to save me?" The vibrating of his phone snaps him out of his thoughts and Robin quickly reads her words. "They probably wouldn't have killed him if he wasn't trying to protect me."

Robin reads intently every word she says. She's never shared anything about that horrible night, all he knew was from the newspapers – Daniel was shot, Regina was pushed down the stairs, Henry jumped out of the window of his room and despite the broken arm he ran to their neighbors to ask for help in the middle of the night.

"They probably wouldn't have killed me either," she continues, her expression unreadable, "but he still defended me. Daniel protected me."

"I'm so sorry, Regina."

Robin squeezes the hand he's been holding, not knowing what else to say to comfort her. It seems that whatever he does brings her only pain.

"Emma told me that Henry still screams in his sleep." A tear falls down her cheek and Robin cannot help but swipe it away. Regina flinches at the unexpected touch. "And I cannot be there to comfort him, to tell him that it's okay, that it's over. I was his mother and didn't protect him from so much pain. Oh, and let's not forget that I got his father killed in the process."

"Regina, you're not responsible for what happened," Robin starts, but she's not listening to him.

She seems angry when she says, "I got to live. And now every day I try to move on, I feel like I'm betraying Daniel. And it's tearing me apart. I didn't deserve to move on, I-" She trails off, pulling her hand away from Robin. Her palms hide her face from him as she starts crying again.

She's rocking herself back and forth, and all Robin wants to do is pull her into his arms and hold her forever, but instead he sits there and watches her, feeling his heart breaking in his chest.

When she calms a bit and straightens, Robin asks a question that he already knows the answer to.

"Do you need some space?"

"Yes, I do. Please."

Robin swallows hard over the lump in his throat and forces out a quiet "Okay."

"I promise to reach out to you when things get better but right now… I really need some time." admits, and a tear falls down her cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he tells her, his fingers itching to touch her warm face but he doesn't. Not when she asked for space. "We all stumble sometimes and need some time to heal."

It's obvious that she needs time to sort things for herself, no matter how much he wishes she would let him be there for her. But he'll respect her, he will always give her whatever she wants.

Robin wipes a single tear away from his cheek and clears his throat before saying, "I brought something for you."

He takes the children's book out of the bag and hands it to Regina. She frowns running her hands over it, and then she opens it, her fingers tracing the tiny dots on the pages.

"It's a book for Henry, so you can continue your bedtime stories ritual," he explains.

How funny life sometimes can be. He came here to bring a book to make Regina and Henry happier and yet he'll walk out with a broken heart. And he's pretty sure his heart is not the only one that's broken.

Regina opens her mouth and closes it without saying anything, her eyes becoming full of tears as she shakes her head. She looks genially touched by this gesture and stretches her hand out to seek out Robin's. When their fingers intertwine, she says, "Thank you."

Robin squeezes her hand tightly, before releasing her reluctantly, and stands up from the couch. "I should go before Henry comes." He tells her, clearing his throat. Regina nods her head, and brushes another falling tear away from her cheek. "Have a nice weekend, Regina."

She nods meekly and turns her head down.

"Will you be alright?" he asks quietly.

"I will."

"You know you can always call me," he reminds her. "If you ever need something, don't doubt. Call me. I'll always be there for you, no matter what happens between us."

"Thank you."

He clears his throat, "Well then. Goodbye, Regina."

"Goodbye."

He walks out of her apartment and just before the door closes, he turns around and notices how Regina burrows her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

His heart is begging for him to turn around, but he forces himself to keep going.

He forces himself to let her go.

.

.

(...)

Thank you so much for still reading this story! If you have any prompts for this verse, feel free to leave them in the reviews or send them in to me on tumblr, twitter or curiouscat. I'm called **ourheroregina** everywhere!


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